


𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐖𝐀𝐑, 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐮. - 💜┊𝖛𝖎𝖗𝖌𝖎𝖑. - Wattpad

by prxnce_rxman



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Forced Marriage, Love Triangles, M/M, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Pirates, Slow Burn, They're stupid your honor, Trans Male Character, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:00:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29500314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prxnce_rxman/pseuds/prxnce_rxman
Summary: a forced marriage between two princes, one "straight" and the other not only trans with a transphobic family, but in love with his spouse's brother. how will that end up?
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	1. one.

**Author's Note:**

> this is an imported work from wattpad! hopefully i'll remember to update at both sites, lmao. infrequent updates, though, i'm sorry about that ^^; i can never seem to motivate myself lol

"a marriage." the queen of sevaowyn proposed, taking a sip of her champagne.

king louis of udrutasea raised his eyebrows, contemplating the offer. "hm. which daughter would you offer to my son?"

queen eleanor turned to face her two daughters- she opened her mouth to say 'lydia', but before she could her husband cut her off.

"lilith."

roman's golden brown eyes locked onto the significantly paler princess, his eyes flitting across her slender cheekbones and her freckles littering her face. he had just caught her gaze when-

"you mean virgil, not lilith. my future husband."

lilith's- or, rather, virgil's- eyes lit up as he pulled his gaze from roman to the pirate leaning against the wall of the castle dining room.

"remus," he muttered gently, his gaze warm and his smile genuine for the first time that evening.

remus pushed himself off of the wall and made his way over to virgil's chair. roman felt his grip on his knife tighten.

remus gingerly lifted one of virgil's small, dainty hands up with his dirty, calloused fingers and pressed a kiss to the prince's knuckles.

"well," king louis said through clenched teeth, "obviously she isn't your future wife because she is getting engaged to roman tomorrow."

roman, remus, and virgil all snapped their gazes up to the king of udrutasea. "what?" virgil cried- his voice was deeper than expected, and pained- "you- you can't just- mother!"

queen eleanor sat silently and stared at her son. "lilith," she said sweetly, "what is all this 'virgil' nonsense?"

lilith sighed. "it's just a joke, mother," she said gently, making her voice noticeably higher and releasing remus' hand. "i'm sorry for interrupting the conversation."

the kings and queens resumed their conversation, eventually forgetting about their children entirely- and allowing virgil and remus to sneak away through the castle hall.

after roman gave lydia a 'if-you'll-excuse-me' look, he quietly stood and followed the pair, all the way to remus' old room.

roman slowly peeked through the slightly opened door, and he wasn't quite sure what he was seeing- he heard it before he fully processed it.

"i cannot believe you actually cut it."

"of course! i told you i would, virgil."

"i just- never thought my hair would be this short."

oh, roman thought, he's cutting his hair.

with his sword.

with his sword?!

remus set down his cutlass, as if on cue, and picked up a- rusted- pair of scissors. he started to cut off leftover long tufts of virgil's dark curls.

"roman," he called in a sing-song tone, "you don't have to hide from your beloved brother and future betrothed! come out from behind the door."

virgil glanced behind his reflection in the mirror as roman stepped into the room. "hello," he said after an awkward throat clear. virgil gave a quick wave and then turned his attention back to remus.

"you're sure you're going to be able to make my parents accept this haircut?"

"what do they care?" was remus' reply. "you're getting married-" -roman could've sworn he heard a bitter undertone in remus' voice- "-and you'll probably end up living here. they won't see you often after the wedding anyways."

virgil shrugged in agreement, heaving a sigh as he reached up to place a hand on remus' jaw. "if you weren't a pirate i would be in there vouching to marry you. if it weren't for this stupid, pointless war.."

he trailed off, and the three stood in a thick, awkward silence.

"well," roman said gently, walking forward, "good to know neither of us necessarily want this marriage."

virgil seemed almost relieved by that sentiment, but remus was offended for him. "why don't you want to marry virgil? he's incredible!"

"he's a man! i'm not attracted to men!" roman stated, unaware of the starry look that glossed over his future fiance's eyes and the grin that swept his pale face.

"good, so you have common sense." remus muttered. "nice to know you won't be participating in the misnaming bullshit." virgil gave another sigh and reached up to caress remus' jaw again. "don't worry," he said gently, "i'll be okay. like you said, i only have to frequently see my parents and sister for a few more weeks."

remus leaned into virgil's gentle touch, closing his eyes and setting his scissors down. he sighed and nodded in agreement. roman was about to ask how they knew each other when he heard his father calling for the trio.

well. not the trio. just him and virgil.

virgil grabbed remus' hand and dragged him along down the hall, whispering that "you need to explain the hair to them because i am not going to."

they returned into the room with poise, and virgil gracefully glided back to his seat, deliberately avoiding his sister's gaze and ignoring his mother's gasp of horror.

"roman, remus," king louis said tensely, "whatever happened to lilith's hair?"

roman was about to stumble his way through an answer. he really was. but remus swept in and saved both him and virgil.

"i cut her hair, because she's going to be roman's wife, and everyone in udrutasea is a warrior. mother has short hair, why can't lilith?"

roman made brief eye contact with virgil, and the paler boy raised his eyebrows in a relieved-but-wary sort of expression. roman gave him a supportive, empathetic smile, and it seemed like virgil was going to smile back, but last second he seemed to choose against it.

he looked down at his hands and started picking at the beds of his bitten nails, fighting the urge to gnaw at them some more as his mother interrogated the ex-prince.

"queen eleanor," roman interjected, "if i may- it is true. our mother has had short hair for as long as either of us can remember, and if she will be wedding me, then it makes sense for her hair to be cut as well. short hair is genderless and traditional in udrutasea."

the sevaowyn queen glanced at virgil, sighed, and gave in. "fine." she stated. "i suppose it's alright- however, the cut is choppy and i demand my daughter be given a proper cut before the marriage."

"that can be arranged," king louis assured. virgil flicked his head up to roman and remus, who both nodded discreetly. the grin that crossed virgil's face made roman hate the fact that they were being forced into marriage slightly less.

he stifled it quickly, however, and he seemed to zone out for the rest of the dinner. not that he missed much- most of the conversation was about engagement rings anyways.

\--

"princess lilith of sevaowyn, will you marry me?" roman asked, his smile a bit too forced and his pose a bit too stiff as he held out the silver ring to the man before him.

"yes, of course!" virgil replied dramatically- but not particularly enthusiastically- and held his hand out for roman to slide the ring onto his finger.

as roman stood up, virgil grabbed his wrist and pulled him close to whisper in his ear.

"i don't care how much you like women, i am NOT wearing a dress to our wedding. that's final."

"believe me, i'm quite alright with that. you aren't a woman anyways. i'll get the tailors to make you a suit."


	2. two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah, i'm already running out of things to put here. lmao- the first three chapters were all written literally months ago jfdsjfjhd. enjoy?

"you may now kiss."

virgil and roman locked eyes, a dull, clouded gaze meeting an annoyed, stoic one. virgil had been more or less zoning out the entire ceremony. he sighed gently and leaned forward, meeting roman halfway.

the stories virgil read when he was small always said that kisses were supposed to be magical. like- a prince saves a princess and they kiss and it feels like sparkles and fireworks and you never want to stop.

virgil kissed roman and he felt nothing.

absolutely nothing.

\--

weddings were never virgil's scene. he never liked them. he never wanted to be at one or have one- not a traditional one, anyways.

the fabric of his suit was itchy, and the music was loud, and he wasn't a fan of cake, or dancing, or talking, or people. and, according to sevaowyn's laws, he was still too young to drink.

"hey." roman said with a heavy sigh, taking a sip of his champagne. virgil tensed up. "hello, dearest." he said sharply, staring out at the crowds of dancing attendees.

"we still haven't done our dance." roman pointed out after he followed his husband's gaze.

virgil nodded. "indeed we haven't-" he waved over a servant to pick a cookie from her platter. "-thank you, dear."

the servant grinned and walked away to serve the others. roman took a long sip of his champagne again. "..'dear'?" he asked after a moment.

virgil nodded. "yes. i was raised to be kind and courteous to all the servants. and besides, no shame in calling someone dear."

"but 'dear' is a pet name," his husband said dumbly.

virgil snorted. "indeed it is. thank you for the very detailed and eloquent explanation- i'm still going to call the servants 'dear', though."

with that, virgil bit into the cookie he had picked up from the servant's tray and gazed into the crowd once again. roman saw a familiar face, but before he could warn his newly betrothed-

"lilith, sweet heavens, whatever are you wearing? it's customary for the bride to wear a white dress, what is this... black servant's garb for?"

virgil straightened his posture. "mother, i'm not a bride, and this isn't 'servant's garb'. it's a traditional wedding suit of udrutasea and since black is one of the kingdom colors of sevaowyn, i figured i would wear black. i don't see the problem."

"of course you're a bride, darling, you're a woman! i didn't give birth to a woman just for her to say she isn't one!"

virgil tensed, his eyebrows furrowing together and his eyes narrowing. "queen eleanor," he stated slowly, "i am not your daughter." the queen's eyes widened at that statement, but before she could question, virgil did something roman didn't think he would ever see.

"guards." the paler king called out. "please escort queen eleanor away from me, and prevent the other members of sevaowyn's royal family from speaking to me from now until their departure back to their castle."

the guards complied, and though queen eleanor called for him, virgil didn't bat another eye in her direction.

roman was in shock.

"i- you just- but that's- wh- virgil-"

"they're about to start playing the song we picked out. come on." virgil stated plainly, grabbing roman by the hand and dragging him along to the center of the floor. the other dancers stepped away.

virgil placed his hands on roman's shoulders, and roman gently- awkwardly- set his hands on virgil's waist. the band started to play, and the two danced.

the music was loud, loud and annoying and proper- but it didn't drown out roman's whispers.

"i'm really sorry about your family," he said lightly. "i'll never understand how they don't see your discomfort."

"they see it, they just choose to ignore it." virgil rolled his eyes and took another step, his eyes locked on his polished black shoes as they skipped across the marble flooring.

"it's gross that they never take your opinions into consideration."

"yeah, tell me about i- your eyes are really lovely."

"...what?"

virgil's dark gaze flicked over to a group of onlookers they had gotten awfully close to and mouthed 'play along' to roman before continuing.

"yes. they look almost golden in this lighting. and your crimson sash infinitely brings out the gentle, boyish flush your facial features possess. it's a lovely combination, really. especially with your golden crown."

roman, though he tried, couldn't stop the blush that crept up onto his face, spreading across his nose and cheeks like butter. he smiled gently at virgil, secretly wondering where his husband had ever learned to talk like that.

"i mean it." virgil stated lightly, though roman was able to detect hints of fakeness in the lilt of his husband's tone. it didn't much matter to him, though. "thank you, love." roman stated gently. virgil's eyes flickered down to the ground again.

"what?"

"remus used to call me 'love'. he must've gotten it from you."

"..oh."

the song ended, and they leaned forward for another kiss. once again, virgil was void of the sparkles and the butterflies and... and the love. the love he was supposed to have.

\--

"your bedroom, your majesties." the guard said, bowing to them both before excusing himself. roman walked in, and virgil followed.

"i really hope the sleepwear isn't as itchy as your traditional wedding attire." virgil said quietly, to which roman snorted.

"it definitely isn't silk, but it's not half bad. you'll get used to it." roman replied, sliding off his sash and top. virgil got his bedclothes from his dresser and escaped into the bathroom to change- roman assumed it was because of his chest.

(in a way, he was right.)

virgil came back out in white cotton pajamas, making his pale skin look ever paler and his dark hair ever darker, and making him look very, very not native sevaowyn.

"where are you from?" roman asked as they settled into bed.

"sevaowyn, why?"

"nothing, it's just- you aren't really... olive toned like most sevaowynians."

"i'm albino," virgil deadpanned. "i was just born quite pale."

"but your hair is black."

"a miracle in its own right."

"you have freckles."

"those are from years in the sun."

"oh."

"yes."

"well-"

"we should really be getting to sleep, shouldn't we?" virgil asked, cutting him off. roman nodded, and opened his mouth to speak again, but virgil spoke first.

"well then. goodnight, lover."

roman cleared his throat and nodded. "goodnight," he said drily, watching as virgil laid down with his back to roman, facing the window.

virgil was already lightly snoring by the time roman rested his head against the pillows.


	3. three.

roman awoke, for the fifth time that month, to the sound of a quill scratching hastily against paper.

he sat up and rubbed his eyes, picking his undershirt up off his bedside table and slipping it over his bare chest. "virgil," he yawned, "whatever are you doing this time?"

"writing a letter to my mother." virgil explained, his dark eyes flicking up for a moment to meet roman's gaze and lock onto it. "i know what you're thinking, lover, but you don't understand."

"i understand that she hurt you, and that you didn't want any more contact with her." roman said, his eyebrows drawing together in concern. "whatever would cause you to write to her?"

virgil paused his writing to take roman's hand into his own, brushing his thumb over roman's dry knuckles. "dearest, i appreciate your concern, but i don't know you well enough to trust you with that information just yet."

with that, virgil lifted roman's hand and pressed a light, lingering kiss to his knuckles. "i'm sorry if i woke you," he whispered, "i was trying to write quietly."

roman smothered the smile threatening to creep up onto his face. "it's quite alright, you didn't disturb me." he said lightly, reaching up with his free hand to brush a few strands of his husband's black curls out of his dark eyes.

virgil gave him a quick smile and set his parchment and quill aside. he let go of roman's hand just as the door to their bedroom opened.

"your majesties, i do hope i'm not interrupting anything, but i was given orders to deliver you your food." a boy around their age said, carrying a tray of food for them and mugs of hot cocoa.

he set the tray down in between them. "if you have any complications with any of this, tell me, so i can tell the cooks to provide you with better food more to your liking."

virgil reached for one of the mugs, but instead of grabbing it by the handle, he picked it up by the side without the handle. the boy in front of the bed raised an eyebrow, pushing up his spectacles.

"um- dear," roman said lightly, "you're supposed to hold-"

"he knows, your highness," the delivery boy stated, causing virgil to look up. when they locked eyes, the two shared a knowing look before grinning at one another.

"what is your name, love?" virgil asked, holding out his hand. the boy reached out and shook it. "logan. logan williams. i'm actually your royal advisor."

virgil took a long, contemplative sip of his hot chocolate. "mm. pleasure to meet you, logan. are you and roman already acquainted?"

"no." roman said, shaking hands with logan as well. "i was aware you lived in the castle, but we were never allowed to interact with any of the help. i didn't know you were mathilde's son."

"i'm not," logan replied, "i'm actually the son of the wine makers."

"oh." roman said, furrowing his eyebrows once again. "then how are you the new royal advisor?"

"i worked my way up the ranks," logan answered simply, giving a wry smile. virgil saw a bit of himself in the glint of his green eyes.

"well, logan, pleasure to meet you, but allow us some privacy to get changed." logan nodded at virgil and left the room.

virgil took another slow sip of his hot chocolate, glancing over at roman again. his smile still hadn't fully faded. the shine of his dark eyes made roman's breath hitch.

they stayed in a comfortable silence for many moments.

"well, lover, i suppose we should get dressed," virgil exhaled, setting down his mug and raking his hands through his hair.

"aren't we going to eat?" roman asked stupidly. virgil snorted. "what? you can't eat with proper robes on?" he snarked, his tone lilting jokingly and dripping with sarcasm.

the udrutasean king huffed, his face flushing with playful irritation and all-too-real embarrassment. "maybe i can't," he retorted. "not breakfast, at least."

"oh my god," virgil exclaimed. the pure, utter exasperation in his voice made it difficult not to cackle. he stood and went to pick out his clothes, messing with the hem of his long, fox-fur tunic.

roman picked up a slice of toast, eating it as he absentmindedly watched virgil paw through his wardrobe in search of his favorite button-up.

he did this thing, roman noticed, where whenever he was getting too frustrated, he would either hit his wrists together or pull on his curls. after that, he would take deep breaths until the tension in his shoulders dissolved, and then he would resume his previous activity.

virgil picked up a shirt, a tunic, and a pair of pants, and then nervously shot a look over his shoulder to meet roman's gaze.

roman knew what that meant. it meant, 'please look away, i'm changing and i don't feel comfortable showing you my chest'. he nodded, set down his half-eaten toast, and turned to face the door, covering his face with one hand.

that seemed to be enough for virgil, since soon after, the tanned king heard the sound of fabric sliding against skin and falling onto the floor. virgil's breathing was shaky, and there was no doubt his hands were too, but he still managed to get dressed quickly.

in the month they had been married, they had worked together to allow them both to be as comfortable as possible. one of the results of that hard work is that virgil felt comfortable changing with roman in the room. as small as that was, it was progress. progress they both valued.

but roman still had his doubts.

he had his doubts about the letters virgil kept writing to his 'mother'. he didn't know much, he would admit, but he knew enough.

those letters weren't to his mother. they weren't to anyone in his family. they were, most likely,

to remus.

\--

that night, when all was dark and quiet, virgil slipped out from beneath the bedsheets, making sure he didn't disturb roman before he lit the lantern on his bedside table and grabbed his letter. its envelope had been sealed, the black wax gleaming in the soft light of the flame.

he pulled on his pair of slippers and hastily exited the room, softly shutting the door behind him. quickly, as to not alert the guards, he headed towards the castle library.

the large, polished doors of the library loomed closed and locked- but virgil had one of the keys hanging around his neck from a bit of twine.

there are a few benefits to being king.

he slid the dark, rusted key into the large lock, twisting until he heard the click. the steel, bejeweled doorknob squealed in protest as he turned it. startled, he froze, hoping that hadn't been as loud as he thought it was.

noted, he thought as he held his breath, tell the guards to oil this doorknob tomorrow.

after several too-long seconds, the pale king forced the old door open and hurried inside, the pads of his slippers tapping lightly against the recently shined wooden flooring.

a tall, unruly, rushed figure, virgil wasn't exactly the paragon of grace at the moment.

but he wasn't trying to be.

he picked up an empty metal wastebasket, sitting down in one of the plush reading chairs and setting it beside his crossed legs. he pulled the coffee table closer and carefully settled the lantern on it, opening it so the flame was exposed.

slowly, as if he was unsure it would still be there, virgil reached into the pocket of his nightclothes and pulled out the envelope.

he allowed it to hover over the flame, catching fire near instantly.

virgil watched as the fire spread, holding the burning letter over the metal bin so the sparks and ashes fell into it rather than onto the wood floor. the orange blaze was reflected in his dark eyes, and he was only faintly aware of the wax seal dripping onto his fingernails.

after a few long, peaceful minutes, virgil dropped the rest of the burning, ashy letter into the wastebasket, snuffing out the flame in the process.

he flicked the bits of wax off his fingers, smiling softly down into the trash bin. "goodnight," he whispered, shifting his gaze up towards the skylight.

with that, he headed back to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok i can't say much, but let it be known the letter was not to remus


End file.
